Affectionate 'chewing' of fingers by young cat

A question about : Affectionate 'chewing' of fingers by young cat

My daughter has an almost 10 month old cat who came to live with us as a kitten last summer. In September she went away to Uni and, while he has always been an affectionate little thing, he has since become much more attached to me.
He sleeps on my bed (usually leaning on my leg/foot) and recently has started a new behaviour . He only does this first thing in the morning, when we first wake up. He senses when I wake up, gives a little 'trill' and when I reach down to stroke him he will lick and 'chew' my fingers, not hard - he's never hurt me, but he purrs ecstatically while doing this.

My previous cat never did this. I wondered if anyone could shed any light on why he does this, please? And should I be letting him? Or should I be discouraging this behaviour?

Thanks

Best answers:

• My young cats do this- the trill is a really loving greeting (my two who are litter mates have always done it) and you are honoured to receive it. I use it to call mine if they are late coming in and it works like magic. Like young dogs they will also 'mouth'- no idea what it means but I find it endearing so cannot imagine telling them off for it. Just be careful if he gets too excited with the cuddling- it can make them feel playful- that is when the claws can accidentally scratch.
• Perhaps it's a variation on suckling from Mum. Some dogs 'suckle' in their sleep while wagging their tails in pleasure.
• My cat can still do this at 14.....
  He...Loves you, that's all.
• My cat does this and he's nearly 3. He'll nuzzle your hand, give you a bit of a wash and have a little chew.
  However as he's got older and stronger he can sometimes get a bit carried away. If he chops too hard or gets his claws out I just say no and he backs off.
  When he lived with my parents he learnt that my Dad was happy with the chewing but my mum didn't like it so after the first time he never did it to her again.